Released Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Roberta Pinna has been creating art since she was a small child, undertaking her studies in Italy, France, and the School of Visual Arts in New York. From the hundreds of photos she takes, she picks out individuals and isolates figures from their original settings, painting them onto gesso backgrounds. Her figures are suffused in an expanse of white or colored space. Bodies are often denied any identity or relationship with their environment.

About the print:
Divers are one my favorite subjects. The plunge of a dive inspires me with a sense of power, freedom, creativity, and possibility. To challenge gravity and transform a "fall" into a "fly" and a body performance is something that fascinates me and inspired this Costumata in Red and most of my artworks.

I paint on canvas, board, or paper surfaces which are often prepared with a gesso background and then drawn or painted onto using mixed media such as acrylic, oil, charcoal, gouache, or pencil.

This is a digital print on acid free, Neenah uncoated matte 100lb cover paper that is 80% recycled. It was digitally signed by the artist and was numbered by The Working Proof.

What has inspired you recently?
There are four words that can be used to identify my artistic research: Fall and Fly, Swimsuit and Costume. The leading meaning behind them and the border line of their possibilities is what inspires me and my art.

Why did you choose to pair Restore NYC with your print?
I choose to pair my print with Restore NYC for their work with international survivors of sex trafficking in New York City. Where there isn't freedom, identity, or safety, people live in fear - which is a way to take control of someone and paralyze them. I want to support and encourage people, women, and minorities to convey their needs. Only where human rights and dignity exist can people express their personal best, establish democracy, and a solid future.

How have you seen art transform the world around you?
I think that art always transforms the world in some way. The job of many artists is what I call "beautification". Of course, artists communicate their ideas in different ways, but in my opinion there is a common denominator: the process of making improvements to the world.

If you could pick one artist to mentor you, who would it be?
There are many, many artists that I love, most of them contemporary and perfectly unknown. But, above all, there are two big names that I would love to mentor me: Antonello Da Messina and Chagall. Their artworks are so fragile and delicate yet so strong all at the same time: an unbelievably touching and powerful combination.

Who are some artists you think people should know about?Maria Lai, who makes art by composing sewing threads, and Sabrina D'Alessandro, who makes art by using obsolete Italian words.